2024 MotoGP Sepang Test: Ducati's Pecco Bagnaia Dominant on Third Day, Sets New Lap Record

The current MotoGP champion, Pecco Bagnaia, set a new lap record for the premier class on the last day of the 2024 preseason test at Sepang. In his second test with Ducati, Marc Marquez finished sixth, six-tenths behind the Italian.

By Divyam Dubey | on February 8, 2024 Follow us on Autox Google News

On the last day of the Sepang pre-season test, four riders, headed by the reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia, set lap times in the 1m56s zone, thereby dominating the day. Although his record was broken on Wednesday, Bagnaia still managed to set the stage for the first 1-minute and 56-second laps of the venue during Thursday's opening hour thanks to the ideal grip. Despite many attempts by competitors to launch single-lap attacks, Bagnaia's remarkable record of 1m56.682s remained unbroken all day long.

On the Pramac Ducati, Jorge Martin—who had set the fastest time on the first day—came very close to surpassing Bagnaia, clocking 1 minute, 56.854 seconds. Third place went to Enea Bastianini, the factory Ducati rider and the quickest qualifier the day before, who set a lap time of 1 minute 56.915. The fact that no MotoGP rider has ever managed a lap time of less than 1 minute and 57 seconds at Sepang before this day emphasises the importance of the accomplishment. With a time of 1 minute, 56.938 seconds, Alex Marquez of Gresini Ducati became the fourth rider on the day to break the 1 minute, 57-second barrier at Sepang, continuing the remarkable performance.

2024 MotoGP Sepang Test: Day Three Result

On the third day, Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia ended that streak by finishing fifth. While Maverick Vinales and Miguel Oliveira, two other Aprilia riders, are still getting to know the 2024 Aprilia RS-GP, Espargaro showed off an impressive combination of stability and greater downforce.

Ducati Martin

Marc Marquez, Gresini's high-profile recruit, jumped into the top ten, despite a disappointing showing in terms of single-lap pace on Tuesday and Wednesday. His encouraging racing speed suggests a promising beginning to the season. Meanwhile, Di Giannantonio, the newest member of VR46, had a tough time of it and ended up in seventh place while riding a bike setup he wasn't a fan of. 

After a late-day crash, teammate Marco Bezzecchi finished 17th, putting him the only full-time Ducati rider to finish outside the top seven. On his Gas Gas-badged Tech3-run KTM, rookie Pedro Acosta maintained his impressive adaptability and finished seventh. With a timing of 1 minute and 57.365 seconds, he was the best KTM rider of the day, just a hundredth slower than Brad Binder's best RC16 performance from Wednesday.

Pos Rider Team Time Laps
1  Pecco Bagnaia  Ducati Team 1'56"682 47
2  Jorge Martin  Pramac Racing +0"172 47
3  Enea Bastianini  Ducati Team +0"233 35
4  Alex Márquez  Gresini Racing +0"256 49
5  Aleix Espargaro  Aprilia Racing +0"409 48
6  Marc Marquez  Gresini Racing +0"588 54
7  Fabio Di Giannantonio  VR46 Team +0"661 55
8  Pedro Acosta  Tech3 +0"683 41
9  Joan Mir  Repsol Honda +0"692 30
10  Brad Binder  KTM Factory +0"780 53
11  Fabio Quartararo  Yamaha Factory +0"843 53
12  Maverick Vinales  Aprilia Racing +0"846 57
13  Takaaki Nakagami  LCR Honda +1"083 32
14  Jack Miller  KTM Factory +1"169 57
15  Alex Rins  Yamaha Factory +1"197 52
16  Johann Zarco  LCR Honda +1"260 41
17  Marco Bezzecchi  VR46 Team +1"313 56
18  Miguel Oliveira  Trackhouse Racing +1"318 52
19  Luca Marini  Repsol Honda +1"344 40
20  Cal Crutchlow  Test team Yamaha +1"991 45
21  Augusto Fernandez  Tech3 +2"058 60
22  Lorenzo Savadori  Trackhouse Racing +2"132 64
23  Michele Pirro  Pramac Racing +2"183 43

Joan Mir, the top Honda rider, finished in ninth place. Coming in eleventh place overall, Fabio Quartararo stood out as Yamaha's fastest rider. He was four positions and three-tenths faster than his new teammate Alex Rins, demonstrating how the M1 still has problems in single-lap situations even though its power output has been improved.

Later this month, a two-day session in Qatar will wrap up the MotoGP pre-season testing, preparing for the opening round in early March at the same location.

Tags: MotoGP 2024 MotoGP Sepang Test Sepang Test Pecco Bagnaia

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